Thomas Rolfe
| Thomas Rolfe | |
|---|---|
 A photograph of the "Sedgeford Portrait," said to represent Pocahontas and her son.[1] |
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| Born | January 30, 1615 Jamestown, Virginia |
| Died | 1680 Kippax Plantation, Virginia |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Children | Jane Rolfe |
| Parents | John Rolfe (father) Lady Rebecca (mother) |
Thomas Rolfe (January 30, 1615 – 1680) was the only child of Pocahontas by her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Wahunsunacock, the chief of Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
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[edit] Early life
Thomas Rolfe was born in Virginia. He traveled to London with his parents in 1616, and remained there, after the death of his mother, in the care of his appointed Guardian, Sir Lewis Stukeley and later his father's brother, Henry Rolfe.[2].
Thomas married Elizabeth Washington in September 1632 at St James's Church, Clerkenwell and they had a daughter named Jane in 1633. Elizabeth died shortly after Jane's birth.
[edit] Land and family
Two years later, Thomas returned to Virginia as an adult, trained in English ways. He left his daughter, Anne with his cousin Anthony Rolfe to claim his inheritance. In 1641, he asked permission of the Governor to visit his "kinsman Opecancanough".[2] Thomas inherited a tract of some 2000 acres, across from Jamestown; the land was described in a later deed as "due unto the sd Rolfe by Guift from the Indyan King".[3].
After the 1644 Indian attack on the colony, four forts were established to defend the frontier: Fort Henry, Fort Royal, Fort James, and Fort Charles. Fort James was to be under the command of Thomas Rolfe, for which service he was granted four hundred acres of land at the site of the fort:
And it is further enacted and granted, That left.[Lieutenant] Thomas Rolfe shall have and enjoy for himselfe and his heires for ever ffort James alias Chickahominy fort with fowre hundred acres of land adjoyning to the same, with all houses and edifices belonging to the said forte and all boats and amunition at present belonging to the said ffort; Provided that he the said Leift. Rolfe doe keepe and maintaine sixe men vpon the place duringe the terme and time of three yeares, for which tyme he the said Leift. Rolfe for himselfe and the said sixe men are exempted from publique taxes.[4]
On August 8, 1653, Rolfe patented 525 acres, "...lying upon the North side of Chickahominy river commonly called and known by the name of James fort...", apparently including the 400 acres he had received in 1646. [5] This James Fort land was repatented by William Browne on April 23, 1681.[6] The tract was described in the patent as "formerly belonging to Mr Thomas Rolfe, dec'd", thus establishing that Rolfe had died before that date.
In 1698, Thomas Rolfe's grandson John Bolling released to William Browne his rights in the land, in a deed in which Bolling is identified as "...son and heir of Jane, late wife of Robert Bolling of Charles City County, Gent., which Jane was the only daughter of Thomas Rolf, dec'd..."[7]
Rolfe's wife was Jane Poythress, daughter of Captain Francis Poythress and his wife Alice Payton. [Notes] . As confirmed by the 1698 deed quoted above, his daughter Jane married Robert Bolling. They had nine children. Their son John was born January 26, 1676.
[edit] Legacy
Many Americans claim descent from Pocahontas through her son Thomas Rolfe, his daughter Jane, and his grandson John Bolling.[citation needed]
Rolfe appeared in the Animated Hero Classics direct-to-video episode Pocahontas in 1994.
The character Thomas Rolfe appears as a child in the 2005 theatrical film The New World, but is absent in the 1998 Disney animated straight-to-video film Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, a sequel to the 1995 motion picture.
[edit] References
- ^ Palmer, Vera (March 17 , 1935). "Pocahontas' Earrings". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived on May 25, 2011. Although the two figures in the portrait are said to represent Pocahontas and her son, the boy shown in the portrait appears several years older than Thomas Rolfe, who was aged two when his mother died.
- ^ a b Dorman, John Frederick (2004). Adventurers of Purse and Person. 4th ed., vol. 3. pp. 25–37
- ^ Davis, Eliza Timberlake, Surry County records, Surry County, Virginia, 1652–1684. p. 91
- ^ Hening, William Waller, Hening's Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia from the first session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619.
- ^ Land Office Patent Bk 3, p. 13.
- ^ Land Office Patent Bk 7, p. 96
- ^ "Historical Memoranda", Southern Literary Messenger, August 1857, p. 123.
